MY MAN - MR. LLOYD!

MR
LLOYD'S CAREER STATS

1998:
63 tackles, 47 solo and 16 assists, 1 sack and 1 forced fumble.

1997:
Greg's season was once again disrupted by an injury sustained against
Philadelphia November 23. He sat out the final six games of the season
when the ankle injury developed into a staph infection. Had registered
33 solo tackles and 3.5 sacks before his injury.

1996:
Suffered torn patella tendon in left knee five minutes into third quarter
of opener at Jacksonville (Sep 1)... Had registered 2 solo tackles and
50th career sack before sustaining injury.

1995:
Voted defensive co-captain with Levon Kirkland by his teammates... Started
every game for first time since 1992... Named to his fifth Pro Bowl...
Consensus all-Pro by AP, C&PFW, Football Digest, Pro Football Weekly,
Sporting News... Twice earned AFC Defensive player of week honours.
Led team with career high 117 tackles... second time leading team in
tackles and second time surpassing 100 tackle mark... Team leader with
18 stops behind line of scrimmage and 6 forced fumbles... Tied career
interception high (3)... Led team in tackles for 5 games... Had double-digit
tackles for 3 games... Led team with 12 tackles (10 solo) vs Jacksonville...
Made career-long 52-yard interception return at Chicago (Nov 5) to set
up TD and earned AFC Defensive Player of Week 11 after recording 4 tackles,
2 QB pressures, 2 sacks, 1 interception, a pass defense and a forced
fumble... Led team with season high 13 tackles vs Houston (Dec 3)...
Earned 2nd AFC Defensive Player of Week 15 vs New England (Dec 16) after
tying season high with 13 stops (7 solo) and causing Ben Coates fumble
that was returned by Chris Oldham for TD... Finished postseason with
20 tackles, one behind team leader Levon Kirkland... Led team with 2
sacks and 6 QB pressures... 2nd on team with 8 tackles in Super Bowl
XXX vs Dallas (Jan 28).

1994:
Named to 4th Pro Bowl in 6th season as starter... Voted MVP by teammates
for second time in career... Consensus all-Pro by AP, C&PFW, Football
Digest, Sports Illustrated, USA Today... Named defensive player of year
by United Press International and Kansas City 101 Club... Played 15
games with 15 starts... Ranked 3rd on team with 91 tackles (73 solo),
career-highs with 10 sacks and 7 forced fumbles... Also had 10 pass
defenses and 1 fumble recovery... Tied team record with sack in 6 consecutive
games, Games 5-10... Was third on team with 21 QB pressures... Opened
season with 10 tackles vs Dallas (Sept 4)... Led team with 8 stops vs
Houston (Oct 3), also had 1 forced fumble and 1 sack... Ended 4 of Bengals
final 13 plays including a sack and forced fumble to preserve 14-10
win vs Cincinnati (Oct 16)... October heroics earned Lloyd AFC defensive
player of month... Made 27 tackles, sack in every October game and 3
forced fumbles... Led team with 9 tackles vs Miami (Nov 20)... Did not
dress for San Diego game (Dec 24)... Made 11 tackles while starting
both playoff games.

1993:
Named Pro Bowl starter after leading team in tackles for first time
with 111, including 6 sacks, and in forced fumbles with 5... Started
15 games, missing Week 17 at Seattle (Dec 26) with hamstring injury
which ended streak of 47 straight starts... Made 16 tackles in first
2 games before earning defense game balI vs. Cincinnati (Sept 19) with
sack, team-high 8 tackles... Made 14 tackles and fumble recovery at
Atlanta (Sept 27)... Named AFC defensive player of week and got defense
game ball vs San Diego (Oct 10) with sack, team-leading 11 tackles and
2 forced fumbles, 1 of which was returned by Levon Kirkland for game's
only TD... Shared lead with 8 tackles vs New Orleans (Oct 17) before
getting sack and forced fumble at Cleveland (Oct 24)... Tackle leader
at Cincinnati (Nov 7) with 8, at Houston (Nov 28) with 12 while starting
at MLB in dime defense... Named AFC defensive player of week for second
time at Miami (Dec 13) with 2 sacks, 7 tackles... Strained L hamstring
vs Houston (Dec 19) and was inactive at Seattle (Dec 26)... Returned
to start vs Cleveland (Jan 1) and forced 2 fumbles which set up 2 FGs
in addition to 1 sack to move to 7th in team history... In playoffs
at Kansas City (Jan 8) made 1 sack among 3 tackles.

1992:
Led team in sacks (6.5) fumbles forced (5) and fumbles recovered (3)
to earn second trip to Pro Bowl as "need" player... Had interception
at San Diego (Sep 20), 13 tackles at Green Bay (Sep 27), including 1/2
sack, 1 forced fumble... Had forced fumble and sack among 9 tackles
vs. Cincinnati (Oct 19) followed by 2 sacks at Kansas City (Oct 25)
for fourth multiple-sack game of career... Made 8 solo stops and forced
2 fumbles at Buffalo (Nov 8), followed by forced fumble, blocked pass
and 5 tackles vs Detroit (Nov 15)... Had 2 sacks at Chicago (Dec 13)
for second 2-sack game of year.

1991:
As need player became 8th LB under Chuck Noll to play in Pro Bowl, joining
Andy Russell, Henry Davis, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, Robin Cole, Mike
Merriweather and David Little... Was 3rd on team with 76 tackles, 2nd
with 8 sacks, led team with 6 forced fumbles, shared lead with 2 fumbles
recovered and added 1 intercepton... Also handled long-snapping duties
on punts for 4 games... Had 2 sacks, fumble recovery in opener vs San
Diego (Sep 1)... Made interception vs New England (Sep 15), followed
by a sack in each of next 2 games at Philadelphia (Sep 22) and Indianapolis
(Oct 6)... Earned game ball in overtime win at Cincinnati (Nov 10) with
2 sacks, 8 tackles, forced and recovered fumble which set up winning
TD in overtime… Forced 3 fumbles in next 5 weeks and added sack vs Cincinnati
(Dec 15)... Capped season with 9 tackles vs Cleveland (Dec 22)... Led
or shared team lead in sacks all season until 4 sack outing by Jerrol
Williams in final game.

1989:
Team sack leader with 7, second-leading tackler with 92 after starting
all 16 games for first time... Added career-high 3 interceptions, 3
fumble recoveries... Made 4 sacks in last 4 games, including 2 vs Houston
(Dec 3)... Had 11 solo tackles at Denver (Nov 5), interceptions vs Chicago
(Nov 12) and at Miami (Nov 26)... Won game ball at New York Jets (Dec
10) with 8 tackles, 1 interception, 1 sack.

1988:
Spent first 7 weeks on injured reserve after suffering knee injury in
pre-season game vs Philadelphia (Aug 14) and undergoing arthroscopic
surgery Aug 15... Activated Oct 22 and played in first NFL game vs Denver
(Oct 23)... Played in last 9 games with 4 starts, finishing with 33
tackles, 1/2 sack, 2 forced fumbles while playing ROLB... Made first
NFL start vs Philadelphia (Nov 13) and got 1/2 sack the next week at
Cleveland (Nov 20)... Forced 2 fumbles vs Miami (Dec 12). 1987: Spent
rookie year on injured reserve with knee injury suffered on second day
of training camp (July 27)... Underwent reconstructive surgery Aug 7,
went on injured reserve Aug 28... Was 150th player drafted overall 30th
among LBs.

THE
1998 SEASON

I
wrote the following in June 1998:

The
Steelers would save $2 million against the salary cap if they let Greg
Lloyd go. I can't believe this will happen. They would lose an exceptional
player, an outstanding leader and they couldn't possibly want Greg playing
for another team. Tom Donahoe said, "In our opinion, Greg can still
play. Lloyd's status has never been a question with us.'' It will be
great to see #95 back on the field again to fire up the defense. Unfortunately,
the news from Pittsburgh isn't good. Greg doesn't appear to be able
to run effectively yet. Time is not on his side but if anyone can, Greg
can.

In
July 1998, the Steelers let Greg go and he eventually signed for the
Carolina Panthers. The Steelers used his money to lay the foundations
for their future by getting their rookies into camp - that's life in
today's NFL.

In
1999, Greg appeared to have disappeared. He returned briefly for the
final home game celebrations. Maybe one day he will be back back somewhere
as an NFL coach. I would like to see his passion brought back to Pittsburgh
in some coaching role someday. Anyone know where he is?